Responses of 138 third and fourth graders to failures and successes in mathematics computation were studied in 4 experimental conditions varied by social learning context and modeling. The collaborative learning context increased student persistence after failure and dynamism after success, and modeling increased persistence and dynamism in an…

Describes a college psychology course activity designed to help students define the parameters of cognitive psychology. Students selected a feature film and a journal article that represented some aspect of cognitive psychology. They then wrote a paper discussing the theoretical and empirical connections between the sources and the topic. (MJP)

Describes a collaborative writing project in which students must identify key variables, search and read relevant literature, and reason through a research idea by working closely with a partner. The end result is a polished laboratory report in the APA style. The class includes a peer review workshop prior to final editing. (MJP)

Presents an interdisciplinary activity that combines math and science and enhances cooperative learning skills. Enables students to learn about the scientific method by designing an original research project, collecting and interpreting data, and drawing conclusions based on their research. (JRH)

The Wisconsin Emerging Scholars Program (WESP) is a nonremedial, multicultural workshop approach to learning calculus that emphasizes community and collaboration. This approach is designed to foster substantial participation of underrepresented ethnic minority students and alleviate the problems of isolation and lack of support in a large,…

Describes a study of fifth-grade Taiwanese students that examined the instructional effects of two grouping methods, cooperation with or without inter-group competition, on student academic achievement and pro-social behaviors in a computer-based science learning environment. Discusses implications for cooperative learning. (Author/LRW)

Forms part of a themed issue describing "Parent-Kid-Teacher Investigators," a program in which parents, children, and teachers gather regularly to use language and literacy for action research projects. Looks at the way involvement in the program nourished relationships among diverse individuals. Describes social relationships built at the…

Forms part of a themed issue describing "Parent-Kid-Teacher Investigators," a program in which parents, children, and teachers gather regularly to use language and literacy for action research projects. Discusses ways in which schools and families are alike in building a supportive environment for learning. Illustrates conditions contributing to…

Examines the issue of community in distance learning. Reviews: literature on the nature of community, trends in higher education, and virtual teams in business. Discusses: what higher education can expect from virtual teams; a virtual learning community model; how virtual learning communities in higher education differ from traditional models; and…

Describes the use of PowerPoint software in a cooperative setting that allows inclusion students to create presentations as part of the learning process. Discusses equipment needed, audience, teacher and student preparation, and student evaluation, and includes examples of storyboards and worksheets. (Author/LRW)

Examines data from the collaborative discourse of both preservice teachers and elementary students engaged in small group work to get a clearer understanding of the conditions of effective discourse. Particular focus is on the relationship between discourse and peer group directed inquiry. (Author/VWL)

Describes meta-analysis, a quantitative approach to conducting literature reviews. Illustrates the power of this technique by reporting the quantitative effects of cooperative learning on chemistry achievement in high school and college classes. (Contains 32 references.) (WRM)

Describes a study that examined the effects of collaborative group learning within a multiethnic classroom at the community college level. Confirms that when community college teachers utilize collaborative learning skills in conjunction with traditional learning skills, academic performance increases and student ethnic perceptions improve.…

Evaluated the effects on student teachers of a preservice program that grouped them into cohorts and emphasized community- building. Interview, observation, and questionnaire data highlighted positive effects (high participation levels in group activities, greater awareness of the value of collaboration, and greater willingness to take risks in…

The focus of this article is to provide practical tools to assist secondary special educators and English teachers to more effectively meet the needs of students with disabilities in the area of English/Language Arts. The articles focuses on ideas that emerged as two teacher educators brought together 6-12 English and special education preservice…